


Of Words and Freedom

by Twilight



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-04
Updated: 2013-10-20
Packaged: 2017-12-28 09:52:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/990635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twilight/pseuds/Twilight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren is a Journalism student in his last semester of college. He'd always been a huge fan of crime and mystery novels, mostly the ones written by one author in particular.<br/>He works part-time in a café to have some financial independence from his father. When his studies force him to switch shifts from morning to evening, the thing he least expected was to find out that the insufferable costumer, that had been messing with him since day one, was no one but his favorite author. How will Eren cope with his contradictory feelings towards the same person?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter I

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there world! Well, I've been an assiduous fan fiction reader for a while now, and the obsession I had for this fandom and these precious characters made me want to contribute a little bit. It is indeed my first work, so you may note how I'm trying to improve my writing little by little. This is supposed to be a sort of long fic, so please bear with me If you like the idea and, enjoy the ride?  
> I've been in love with the idea of Levi being a writer and coffee addict for a while, so that's something we're going to see a lot. Feedback is more than appreciated!

He yawned, then looked at the clock followed by a sigh, Monday 2:05 p.m. It was going to be a long shift, he thought while adjusting the back of the black apron that laid upon his uniform, should you call a white shirt and a pair of black, tight pants that. He let another deep exhale escape his mouth at the same time the milk steamer was doing its job. First order of that day, an espresso, he recalled.

“Oh come on Eren, you just clocked in 5 minutes ago, I know it's kind of a pain that you had to switch work for the evenings, but you'll get used to it.”

Eren was met with a giggle that came from behind him. And a pair of eyes skeptical at how quickly he managed to complain that day.

“I'm sorry Sasha, I'm just tired, I had to finish some homework last night.”

Sasha was right, he shouldn't be complaining on his first day after the weekend and a half he had to rest. He had to switch his shift from morning to evening because the classes he needed to take on his last semester of college were only dictated in the mornings.

Eren was a Journalism student. He had found passion on that while he was still in middle school, just a couple of years after the accident that ended her mother’s life. His only family left was his father, who basically disappeared after the _incident_ , only to be reached by his cellphone, since he was always at work. He remembered that his father was a doctor, or at the very least that was how he used to tell Eren.

On the other hand, he also had Mikasa, her overprotective adoptive sister who had had it even worse than him when she first came to live with the Yeagers, when she was 10, and at the time, Eren 9. After having witnessed her parents death by the hands of a couple of burglars who had broken into their house and stabbed them to death, after they denied having any more money than the one which they'd already given them. But letting her live due to a -lack of time before the police came- or so Mikasa had told him. Two years and a half later, things seemed better for her but one evening, when Carla Yeager was going back home from doing some shopping, she ended up being the victim of a car crash caused by criminals trying to get away from the police after emptying a bank. The criminals escaped, no culprits were found, no justice was made.

Eren thought of that while clenching his teeth, getting too immersed into the past. He made himself count to ten. That's right, now we're better. He managed to calm down and proceed with his train of thought. That's how Mikasa found her way to study to become a forensic detective. Eren also got his own approach to the subject, to help fulfill that need of justice that had grown into them since they'd seen how cruel and unfair the world could be.

Eren found peace on reading the newspapers headlines “Culprit found”, “Prayers for justice were heard”, that came as a way to encourage him out of some issues with rage he started to suffer from 3 years after her mother's death, when entering high school at 15. He tried not to think much about it for the moment, trying to concentrate while he finished refilling the coffee machine that had run out of grains. Mikasa and him received an allowance to help pay for both of their colleges every month, but as Eren hated to depend on his father for his expenses he had found himself doing a part-time job at this café, he was 21 after all.

“Libertad” was the name of the place he worked in, the spanish word used for freedom, he vaguely recalled Sasha explaining the meaning to him. He really liked his job, the place had dim lightning which made it cozy, each table equipped with a little lamp which intensity could be regulated by a small knob. The costumers Eren was familiarized with were always low-profile people that usually ended up there to enjoy a book in the short period of time before running to work or to attend some business. Being there felt almost relaxing, he thought.

Libertad was, despite being small, a well located café, in the line that divided the neighborhoods of Rose and Sina. Sina was if not the richest neighborhood to live in within the city, so the prices of the café weren't even close to student-friendly, at least not on a daily basis.

 

* * *

 

The clock marked 6:30, luckily for him, the evening went by really quickly. With only one hour and a half left to go home, he felt happy with the idea of finishing that day in the best mood he could manage before getting back to his dorm and doing some reading into the contents he'd seen that day in class. He could ask his best friend Armin for help on the analysis some topics had, when he couldn't think of how such complicated issues could have even more stuff in them. 

He met Armin when they both were in middle school, Eren going back home with Mikasa when he saw how he was been beaten up for no reason at all. As always, Eren's great sense of justice made him meddle in that fight, having his ass saved by Mikasa in the end. The three of them ended up going into the same high-school, located in Maria, a low-middle class neighborhood in which they lived before coming to Rose for college. The three of them have been together since that time.

Eren was shaken off his thoughts again, now by Connie, Sasha's best friend that had recently turned into a sort of boyfriend.

“Are you listening to me? Sasha told me you were tired, not on another planet, jeez.” Eren couldn't really say anything to counter that so he just shrugged. “Now, I need to do the inventory right now so please take the orders of tables 9 and 15”. Connie disappeared before he even had time to agree with that, but tried not to mind, he was the one off that day after all. 

He took a deep breath and took the cappuccino to the old lady taking a sit in table 9, who scanned him from head to toe and gave him a great smile followed by a _thank you darling._ Trying not to make a grimace for what just happened to him, he nodded and walked two tables away to number 15, where a guy who looked a little older than him had sat, around 5 minutes ago. He was staring at his laptop and only opened up his mouth, without moving his eyes from the screen.

“Took you long enough today.” he said with an irritated tone, “gimme the usual, large size.”.

Eren blinked and took a deep breath in an attempt not to lose his patience, it seemed like he was a regular in the cafe, he didn't want to mess things up at this stage of the day.

“I'm sorry sir, I've just taken the evening shift so I'd appreciate it if you could tell me what _the usual_ means.”

“Oh, so after such a shitty day I have to deal with a newbie, how fucking wonderful”. Eren had never been the best when it came to sarcasm, but he got that, and out of his annoyance replied to him.

“I'm not a newbie, I used to work in the mor-” but was suddenly cut off by the ill-mannered man. “Don't care, didn't ask. Black coffee, large, no sugar. And as it's something bitter it wouldn't hurt much if you changed that face of yours and smile a little.” Before snapping at the costumer, he nodded and made his way back to the opposite side of the counter. Just what the fuck was wrong with that man.

As soon as he saw Connie he had to ask. “What the fuck is wrong with that guy? Who is he?”. After some moments of scanning through the tables in confusion, he spotted table 15 and realization hit him. “Oh that, yeah, he's a regular, he only drinks black coffee, without sugar. He's not the best when it comes to manners or dealing with people but he always comes here to write and his tips are good so...” he shrugged. “Anyways, he _does_ resemble the things he drinks. Sorry, I didn't realize he came today, I'd taken his order”, he apologized.

“It's okay, I didn't have much work to do and as I'm in the evening shift now I might as well get used to it, I guess.”

Sighing was Eren's most used technique to relieve stress, it was easy, almost automatic and didn't hurt himself nor anyone around him. And so he did, adjusting his apron back, walked to table 15 and finally placed the wooden tray in front of the man who had almost earned a fist to his face some moments ago. The mysterious man didn't say anything, he was too absorbed into whatever he was typing to even acknowledge Eren's presence, who made his way back to the kitchen without much trouble.

When he came back to clean up some of the tables, he saw the, now-short, mysterious man picking up his briefcase, adverting Eren's eyes and making the _check_ gesture in the air to beckon him back to his table.

Eren came back with the check and waited patiently for him, failing when trying not to stare at the man, who had a pretty handsome face for an asshole. His features were really soft, but at the same time enhanced by the undercut he had, with some side-bangs resting on his face. Life was unfair after all.

“Oi, brat. Are you gonna stand there drooling at my face or are you gonna pick up the money?” the man questioned while raising an eyebrow at him.

He couldn't stop the blood from rushing into his checks, making him look stupid in less than a second. He could feel his face twisting even more after the man smirked at him. He hurried to grab the money and went to get the change as fast as he could, but caught a glimpse of the short man making his way out before he could actually turn to him.

“I don't need it kid, keep the change, it was enough joy for me to see that reaction of yours, so there's your tip”.

The old lady who was still sitting in table 9 managed to let a giggle escape, while Eren couldn't help to do anything, but trying to make the color go away from at least his ears. Realizing that it was too late for that, he hid his face between his hands and sighed, not in stress but in frustration towards himself.

What a shitty way to start the week, being made fun of by a guy not much older and even shorter than him.

Eren adjusted his apron again, but this time, without much hope on surviving the hours of the day still awaiting him.

 


	2. Chapter II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for making you wait! I was barely at home, but I know it's not a proper excuse, oops. Thank you for the Kudos and comments! it made me finally sit my ass down and keep writing. This chapter is not that long, I apologize in advance for that. I promise to make the next one have more content.  
> Again, things are still being introduced, I want to create a proper setting for everything. As I said, I'm planing on writing this for a while, so please stay with me If you like the idea. That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Eren basically raced to punch out when he heard that deafening, yet somewhat-relieving beep his digital watch made, indicating that his shift was over. He took his apron off and switched his white shirt for a more comfortable t-shirt he had also wore to college. He kept the same black jeans on. Eren loved the way that particular pair fit into his legs, not only were they a part of his uniform, they were also a piece of clothing that conformed his everyday wardrobe. Getting everything done quickly, he greeted Connie and Sasha, not much formality as he waved goodbye, since he would be seeing them from Monday to Friday for at least 6 months from now on. Saving up was his first priority along with getting his degree, after all.

The way back to his dorm wasn't that tedious, it was only a 15 minute walk. He was grateful over the fact that _Libertad_ was in the limit of both Sina and Rose. The path was surrounded by nothing but beautiful houses and expensive apartments, not as fancy as the ones that could be seen in the heart of Sina, of course, but still stunning to someone that came from the humble neighborhood of Maria, where tall buildings had only offices inside them.

The view, in conjunction with the fresh autumn breeze and some good music shuffling in his iPod, allowed Eren to have some time to cool down and just let his body head by itself to the dorm, while his mind wandered off in its thoughts. Autumn was undoubtedly his favorite season. Wearing jackets made him feel comfortable, it was cozy, and it gave him a feeling of security he didn't have in the summer; when not being exposing your whole body or being at a pool, would mean a slow death by melting into the pavement or awful dehydration. Eren went through the East Entrance of the campus, only having to walk some yards to where the dorms where located.

He pulled his keys out of his pocket, opened the door and climbed up the stairs that led to the second floor, where his room was located. When he turned right he bumped into someone. “I'm so-” but his apologies were instantly dismissed before he could even finish them.  
  
“Fuck Yeager, why is it that whenever I see you, the only thing you can do is get in the way”. Fuck yeah, the only thing left that could possible ruin Eren’s day more than it had already been, was seeing him, Jean Kirschstein.  
  
“Get off my face, fucking horse. Shouldn't you be galloping on the meadow or something?”. Before Jean could do anything about that, he heard a giggle coming from behind horse-face.  
It was Marco, who everyone in the dorm including Eren, knew was in a kind of relationship with Jean.  
“Oh come on Jean, we need to get to the supermarket before they close, you'll complain much more later if we have to walk all the way down to the convenience store!”.  
That said, Jean just gave him a _“Tch.”_ and walked past Eren without another word. Marco looked at him apologetically, and Eren couldn't help but smile.

Eren liked Marco, he was always kind to everyone without exception and people could rarely see him pissed off or annoyed, thing that only happened when he argued with Jean. Eren was still not able to comprehend how Marco could put up with that asshole at all, but he guessed he wasn’t exactly the best one here to be judging relationships, or the best at relationships at all. He sighed and after unlocking the door he finally set foot into his room.

He couldn't really call it his home, but his bed and computer were there, so, in a way, he was reminded of what he once was able to call that. The room wasn't that bad, in fact, his college was well known for the accommodation it offered, as the rooms were bigger than in most dorms around the area. That was the student's life for people who couldn't afford an apartment so, he wasn't going to complain much about it. 

He grabbed a Coke Zero from the mini-fridge, yeah Zero was his choice. Regular Coke made him have sugar rushes that were eventually not good to his brain, according to what his best friend had said to him, on a night Eren drank almost one and a half liter of regular Coke and couldn't stop talking about anything that crossed his mind. After getting ahold of his books and notes he had written down in class that morning, Eren turned on his laptop, waited for Skype to load all his contact's information and gave Armin a call. His friend answered almost right away.

“Hey Eren, how was your first day back at work? You had a month to rest from it after classes started, but I know how you work, are you still not used to it?” Eren chuckled. His best friend wasn't even asking him, it was more of a statement. Armin could read him in a way that couldn't cease to amaze him, sometimes for good and some other times not so much, such as those when he wanted to hide embarrassment in some situations.

“Well, you're not wrong there I guess. I've had to deal with a great amount of assholes today and bumping into the horse just a while ago certainly didn’t help my mood either.” Eren admitted.

“Oh, what happened before running into Jean then?” his friend inquired.

Eren started to describe the day in detail to Armin, telling him about how lucky he was to be picked on by a shorty that was supposedly a regular at his work place, at least according to Connie. Armin giggled throughout the whole story.

“He really got on your nerves, didn't he? It's fun though, I'd like to stop by the café someday just to see that. I've seen a lot of times how you turn into a tomato with the littlest stimulation.” his friend teased.

“Well, you trying to fuck with me isn't gonna make shit better you know”. Eren was upset now and this Armin did not pick up on.

“Oh I'm not, believe me. I'm not like those poor girls that want to get into your pants but only get rejected.” Realizing he'd left Eren speechless, Armin just kept on. “But that's another thing, you wanted to go through an analysis, right?” Appreciating his friend's sudden suggestion, Eren decided to roll with it.

“Yeah, I scribbled down some notes today but that doesn't mean I understand the content _,_ so _..._ here we go”.

It ended up in Armin basically reciting the same words the teacher had mentioned in class, yet overly simplified to keep Eren focused. Armin was a paleontology student, he'd always been into reading, and was also passionate about history and biology, which then turned out to be the perfect match when it came to the career he was now studying. Armin was anassiduous reader _,_ so he had the basics to various subjects narrowed down already.

Eren tried hard, but his mind kept drifting away towards his best friend's words. He had been invited to the many parties that were held on campus when the mid-terms ended, and everyone usually wanted some time to have fun and waste away guilt-free. But he'd never gone for it, it just wasn't appealing. Not that Eren’s body didn’t crave that idea _,_ but he simply didn't find fooling around with people he just met like something that'd give him actual satisfaction.

So, even at his age, he hadn't gone any further than kissing and letting his hands wander around a little bit, testing himself. Despite that, he never felt anything that resembled actual desire, the feeling of wanting to take someone and making him yours.

Armin had cautiously suggested him the idea that he might not be into women, basically, that he might be...gay. Eren didn't have much of an argument to refute that, so he simply shrugged at the idea and Armin didn't press the issue. He had never experienced with men though. He had been hit on _,_ sure, but he always felt more creeped out by them rather than tempted to try anything.

He thanked his best friend for the explanations he provided him, and talked Armin into joining him and Mikasa for lunch on Thursday. When Armin was going through all the stuff Eren had seen in class, he'd got a text from her. "Eren, are you free on Thursday? It's been a while since we last met, I wanna know how you're doing, so lets meet for lunch. Tell Armin to come with us too if you want to."

He hadn't seen her sister in two weeks, and that time was more than enough to get her paranoid about whether Eren was taking proper care of his meals, studies or just anything, even breathing was no exception. He replied to her text lazily "k, we'll take about it tomorrow." He tried to be nice, but hated the feeling of control his sister pushed on him most of the time.

Armin was more than happy with the idea, he wanted to relax a little bit with his friends before starting with all the reading and research his career demanded. Eren had seen some of those books, twice the size of the things he read, and as heavy as a brick. When exams were around the corner for the three of them, get-togethers would consist of nothing but yawns and small chit-chat, accompanied by some strong coffee to keep them going.

Eren expressed his gratitude again and ended the call. At least he managed to grasp enough useful material from the talk to actually start studying by himself, it was the last stage of his career after all, so the more things he could store in his mind before getting around his thesis, the better.

Eren looked at the clock, it read 10:30 p.m., it wasn't that late, but he could feel the weight of the day in his mind. He decided to read a chapter of his favorite author's last novel, which was the second part of a three book saga that would soon be released. Eren loved crime novels as much as he loved the idea of justice. He could really get into the world the books created for him, especially the ones from this specific author.

Some of his books just felt so real and intense that Eren wondered if all of those stories were really nothing more than fiction. Eren rejoiced whenever the culprit was found and felt bitterness whenever the criminal got away with, well, murder in most of the cases _._ He was determined to get an autographed copy of the new book on the realease day, and he wanted to tell the author, what his works meant to him, that he basically inspired him to start writing and study journalism. 

After going through the pages with enthusiasm, he got to the end of the chapter, and felt the need to keep reading, but it wasn't an option as he wouldn't be able to give it proper attention to details if he was falling asleep in the process. He finally gave up on the idea and slowly closed the book, placing it carefully below his cellphone charging beside him, and turned off the lights in his nightstand. It'd been a really tiresome day, so the need to sleep came into him in a couple of minutes _._

His eyes shut close while he remembered the smell of coffee, the strongest type they had in _Libertad_. He suddenly felt warm and seconds later, even that smell started fading away, inviting the dreams inside his troubled mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's fun with having Armin tease Eren. That's how I picture their realtionship in a modern world. Or maybe I just like to tease Eren, who knows. I still have time before my exams, so I'll try to make my updates regular, no excuses. Thanks again to the ones who were expecting this chapter! I honestly hope you enjoyed it ouo

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Eren, he can't even imagine that this is the beginning, pff.  
> If you've got here I can't do nothing but say Thank You! Please let me know what you think of it, that's the only way I'll be able to improve!


End file.
